Mexico: Hidalgo > Guatemala

Beware of a combined BC insurance/registration document (if you're from BC...)

Oct 2025 |

Here's details on the fast and relatively easy border crossing from Hidalgo, Mexico in to Guatemala.

My final stop in Mexico was Tapachula, a border town with a large population of Africans (I know, this may sound odd). From there, you have two nearby border options, Talisaman or Hidalgo. I searched online for info on which one is better, didn't find a clear answer. I assumed that because Talisman had been shown on road signs for the final 100kms of my ride to Tapachula, it was the best choice. I was wrong.

The ride from Tapachula to Talisman is about 45 minutes. In the final stage of the ride, I got seriously harassed by border touts, flagging me down and yelling for me to stop. But I kept riding. A couple of them chased me on motos. At the border, there were many more. One guy, wearing a uniform-style shirt, hi-viz jacket, and laminated name badge, instructed me to give him my passport and documents (I did not). A genuine border official explained to me that I could not cross at Talisman, that I needed to go to Hidalgo (the official name of the border crossing is Puerto Fronterizo Schiate II)

I rode the 40 minutes to Hidalgo. (Consider: there is a town on Google Maps named Frontera Hidalgo, but the actual border is another 15 minutes further down the road near Ciudad Hidalgo). To get to the border you need to ride through a scrungy section of town, it seems like a dead end, then you arrive at the Mexico immigration, customs, Banjercito bank, all in one office. There was not a single tout at Hidalgo.

The immigration and Banjercito processes took 5 minutes. TIP handover was a bit longer, as a customs official came out and did a detailed inspection of my bike. From there, you ride through a wheel wash hut (I rode right by it without stopping), then a bit further on you pay a small fee ($2?) at a kiosk (I didn't ask what it was for). In no-man's land, you cross a bridge where you can observe the "informal" border, with rafts carrying goods and people in either direction. You'd think this operation would be a bit more discreet, further away from the actual border.

After the bridge, the immigration office is a small hut. That part of the entry stop took 5 minutes. From there you proceed a short distance to a newer building for customs procedures to import your bike. And this is where I almost had a serious problem.

I had a young official helping me, no English, it was Sunday, the place was empty. After examining my paperwork, she informed me I could not enter Guatemala as my ICBC combined registration and insurance document had expired. In reality, my BC (British Columbia) insurance had expired, but the registration is good as long as you own the bike (for some odd reason, ICBC / govt of BC do not provide a stand-alone title of ownership document, only the combined one). I explained the document format to her, she then had a discussion with a more senior official. Then, thank god, they "made a special exception, this time" and allowed me to import my bike. I later saw a video of a Canadian rider who had the same issue, but did not get entry and then spent days organizing paperwork from Canada.

Documents (originals/copies) I used:

• Passport (Canada)

• DL/IDP (Singapore)

• Bike registration (ICBC combined insurance and registration of ownership doc)

• Moto insurance is not required for the Guatemala entry

I needed to pay a fee for the TIP, they didn't accept credit cards, so I changed money outside the office. The process of Mexico departure and Guatemala entry took 1 hour.

From there, I entered Guatemala and rode 90 minutes to Coatapeque for the night.